Martagon: Sweert 1612

Platemark] Product ID: 2049 From Florilegium Amplissimum et Selectissimum, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1612. Dutch painter and nurseryman Emanuel Sweert (1552-1612) lived in a period when Europeans were receiving an influx of new and exotic plants brought by Dutch, English, and French trading vessels from all over the world. To meet burgeoning public interest in these plants, a trend which would culminate in the wild craze of 'Tulipomania,' many wealthy merchants established nurseries in order to meet demand. As a result, the production of nursery catalogues created a new market for botanical illustration. Sweert prepared his Florilegium as a guide to his available stock for the Frankfurt Fair of 1612. The plates, depicting some 560 bulbs and flowers, were drawn from Johann Theodore de Bry's Florilegium, which in turn was based on that by Pierre Vallet. Sweert's attractive illustrations resulted in the volume's immense popularity, leading to six editions of the work between 1612 and 1647. At the time of the fair, Sweert was in the employ of Emperor Rudolf II as head of his gardens in Vienna.